1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cotton picker machines and their lubrication. More particularly, it relates to a novel process for the periodic application of grease to the rotating spindles and associated gear trains of a cotton picker machine without the delays and loss of production time required by conventional lubrication methods, apparatus for performing the lubrication and grease cartridges for retaining the lubrication until dispensed by the present invention.
2. Art Background
Cotton, the vegetable fiber produced by shrubs and small trees of the genus Gossypium, has been cultivated and utilized for at least five thousand years and still constitutes one of the leading cash crops of U.S. agriculture. Among the leading cotton-producing states are Texas, California, Mississippi, Arizona and Arkansas. In spite of the introduction of many synthetic fibers, cotton remains a principal raw material for the world's textile industry.
Successful cultivation of cotton requires a long growing season with abundant sunshine and water during the period of growth and dry weather when the cotton is ready for harvest. In different geographical areas, the crop matures at different times of the year. But it is critical that the crop be completely harvested in as short a period as possible--no longer than eighteen to twenty days. If harvesting is delayed beyond that point, the cotton will discolor and some will simply blow away. And of course there is always the danger of rain. Thus efficient utilization of time is extremely important, and any method of reducing lost time and "down time" will greatly improve the success of and the yield from the harvest.
One of the necessary tasks which heretofore has taken considerable time during the harvest is the lubrication of the harvesting machines, known as cotton pickers. Cotton pickers are self-propelled and utilize rows of spindles, rotating at speeds up to 4000 rpm, mounted upon moving bars. As the machine proceeds along a row of plants, the spindles, which are barbed, contact the cotton and pull it from the boll. The support bars continually carry the spindles pass a series of rubber fingers called "doffers" which pull the cotton fibers from the spindle, from which they are air-blown upwards through a chute into an overhead bin or "basket". The spindle bars, which travel on a track, then carry the spindles through a water-wash and air-drying stage and back to the front of the machine where they contact more plants and remove more cotton. Power to the spindles is supplied from a planetary gear system which drives individual complex shaft and gear train assemblies inside each of the hollow spindle bars. The spindles and associated gears and bearings are lubricated by a thin (NLGI Grade 00) grease known simply as cotton-picker grease, introduced into the bars through a series of lubricating ports. Approximately thirty two pounds of grease are required to fill a cotton picker spindle systemon a two row cotton picker machine.
Heretofore, application and replenishment of cotton picker spindle grease has consumed a significant amount of lost production time which is of critical importance during the hectic harvest period. Cotton picker grease is lost at an appreciable and unpredictable rate during the operation of the machine. Industry practice is to refill the bars after each ten hours of operation. This refilling operation cannot be done before the day's picking, inasmuch as the grease will not flow properly through the system until the machinery is warm. The conventional practice, therefore, has been to send a maintenance vehicle with grease applicators to meet and lubricate the cotton picker somewhere in the fields. The refilling operation done in this way normally takes from forty-five minutes to an hour, during which time the cotton picker is idle and unable to harvest.
The use of continuous grease applicators such as are customarily employed on large trucks and continuously operating machinery has not proved successful when applied to cotton pickers. The consumption of cotton picking grease during harvest does not occur at a uniform rate, and heretofore continuous application systems have not been found that could supply the required amount of grease in all parts of the system. A manufacturer of cotton picker machines recently incorporated a bulk reservoir mounted on the machine. Grease is pumped into the reservoir and periodically added to the system by a belt-driven pump with an electric clutch. This approach has the obvious disadvantage that the reservoir itself must be periodically filled, a time-consuming and labor intensive operation. The reservoir is mounted near the cotton basket at the top of the machines. Cotton dust can be ignited by a spark, and basket fires are not unusual; and the proximity of a large quantity of grease can increase the severity of the fire. This system has not been able to solve the problems of cotton-picker lubrication.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,978 discloses a lubrication distribution system for a cotton picker machine. A reservoir of grease is disposed on-board a cotton picker. In order to activate the lubrication system, an electric clutch is activated to couple a displacement pump to the engine (drive shaft) of the cotton picker which supplies grease under pressure to a manually operated two way valve which distributes the grease to all of the various areas of the cotton picker to be lubricated, first one area when the valve is in a first position, and then another area when the valve is in a second position. The distribution of the grease to the components to be lubricated is controlled by the length and internal diameter of the conduit carrying the grease to the lubrication points. Areas which require more grease have shorter tubing having a larger internal diameter. Areas requiring less grease have longer tubing with a smaller internal diameter. There are various problems with this device. The driving of the pump off of the drive shaft of the final drive via a belt has been shown to have various mechanical problems because of the infrequency of activation of the electric clutch as well as the difficult access to the drive shaft. Moreover, there is no disclosure that this system can be retrofitted onto existing cotton pickers, and it is not apparent that such retrofit is possible, at least not without some great difficulty and substantial modification to the existing devices. Further, the use of different length and diameter conduit makes it difficult to assemble the lubrication system, and such size differences of the conduit appear to be critical to the functioning of the subject invention.